Manuscripts

The two letters of Dr Anurag Singh, former Director, Research, sent to Avtar Singh, president, SGPC, revealing that the Army/CBI had returned rare books/ artifacts of Sikh Reference Library, taken out after Operation Bluestar in June 1984 in seven instalments, may put the SGPC in a piquant situation.

The Ministry of Defence has closed the chapter of the rare books of Sikh Reference Library of the Golden Temple taken away by the Army after Operation Blue Star in 1984, saying that the Army had returned the entire material to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

The banis (compositions) of the Guru Granth Sahib and the Sri Dasam Granth have played an important part in Sikh ceremonies and the development of the Khalsa. The use of these compositions in Sikh rituals and the Khalsa ceremonies has come down from the Gurus themselves.

A rare heritage in the form of century-old books might soon be lost forever if left unattended to rot on the shelves of the Panjab University library. If quick and appropriate steps are not taken on a priority basis, the books might take along with them several treasures and gems of knowledge. Though university officials [...]

During Indian Army attack (codenamed Operation Blue Star), on the Darbar Sahib and Akal Takht (Amritsar) in June 1984, the cultural, historical and religious heritage of the Sikhs was destroyed intentionally. The Sikh Reference Library in the Golden Temple complex was also attacked, looted and taken away by the Indian army.

In a missive, Rajya Sabha member Tarlochan Singh, in Parliament on February 18 sought clarification from SGPC president Avtar Singh whether any representative of the SGPC had given any certification to the Central government that it (SGPC) did not want to pursue the case of the Sikh Reference Library anymore.

The SGPC in a memorandum to Vice- President of India Dr Mohammad Hamid Ansari during his visit to the Golden Temple, here today, urged him to prevail upon the central government to return rare books and manuscripts ,taken by Army or the CBI during Operation Bluestar in June 1984.

People’s spoken and written language is their t important cultural aspect. In India, over thousands of years, manuscripts have been written in a vast number of languages and each in itself symbolises the history of the country.

A turban, three swords, a cloak, a comb with hair of Guru Gobind Singh and a hand-written piece of paper (manuscript) of the10 th Sikh Master are the relics erstwhile princely family of Nabha state has agreed to hand over to the Punjab government.

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